Northmen
The Northmen are the main antagonists in the Secret of Kells. They are seen several times throughout the film, causing fire and destruction in their never-ending lust for gold. In the beginning, Aisling states that she has seen them invading Ireland, destroying everything as they searched for gold, and stole it from the native people. They mostly grunt and do not speak much, but there are some words in English that they do say, such as "scout" and "gold." Brendan was worried about their arrival. After the brothers told Brendan of The Book, and the Northmen, he fell asleep in the process (due to narcolepsy, a condition that causes you to fall asleep at random times), and he dreamt of them attacking. When he woke up, and took his uncle's plans to him, he told him that he dreamed of the Northmen and it seemed so real. Abbot Cellach replied that it was real, and that it might come to them someday. More and more refugees come to Kells to escape the Northmen and their fires. The people of Kells grew more and more worried. Soon, winter arrived, and the first raven was seen flying over the Abbey. Then more ravens flew over, and the Northmen broke down the door, and shot fiery darts at the huts, starting fires. The people had nowhere to run, but Cellach tried to guide them into the tower to protect them. Very few made it in. The burning steps collapsed, and the rest of the people on them fell to their deaths in the raging fire. The Northmen banged on the door at a building, with terrified people inside. They broke it open and slew everyone inside, then went out. After that, the great chief attempted to slay Cellach, nearly killing him, and ripped his necklace off, and stuck it on his chest, yelling in victory. Brother Aidan, Pangur Bán, and Brendan hide in the Scriptorium. The Northmen come into the room, and Harald Red Tooth walks inside last. The three friends cleverly use smoke to hide themselves, grab the Book, and they run out through the secret passage to The Forest. Unfortunately, they are not safe for long. The Northmen find them again, and Harald picks up Aidan, and took the Book out of his hands. Harald examines the Eye of Crom before Brendan begins to storm up to Harald, just before Pangur attacks him, causing Harald to throw Pangur to the ground. He begins to read the book before a noise startles him, causing him to rip out the pages of the book, keeping the bejeweled cover and ordering the two other Vikings to kill Aidan and Brendan as he leaves. Aisling's Wolves run up to help, and attack the two remaining Northmen, leaping up upon them, sinking their teeth into them, thus killing them. The Viking's swords dropped from their hands as they were killed. Appearance The Northmen are very large and brutish, with large, beastlike hands, both in the film and in the comic. They wear black furry capes, and dark grey boots. They also wear a dark grey helmet with very long grey horns, and have a long, grey beard that goes all the way down to the ground. Most of them have red eyes, giving them a similar appearance to the Wolves, but their leader, Harald Red Tooth, has white eyes and is the largest of them. In older concept art, he wore a red cape and had more red tones in his clothes, rather than all grey and black like in the film. Trivia When the Vikings were killed in the film, each dropped a sword as they died. Two of them fell on top of each other, creating a "t" shape that looks like a cross. It could possibly symbolize the victory of Christianity over pagans, but it is unknown whether this is the true reason this occurred. In the film, the Vikings were seen wearing helmets with large horns on them. Real Vikings did not have horns on their helmets, but this might have been how the Irish would have imagined them, as large, scary people that stole their food, their homes, and their gold. It was also added for more dramatic scenes, since the Secret of Kells is historical fiction, not historical nonfiction, hence the faeries. Jean Baptiste Vendamme 34.jpg Jean Baptiste Vendamme 33.jpg Jean Baptiste Vendamme 32.jpg Jean Baptiste Vendamme 31.jpg Jean Baptiste Vendamme 30b.jpg Jean Baptiste Vendamme 30a.jpg Jean baptiste vendamme 30.jpg Jean baptiste vendamme 29.jpg Jean baptiste vendamme 28.jpg